Final tally: South Bay corruption

DA brought 250 charges, and far fewer stuck

South County corruption scorecard

The San Diego County District Attorney’s corruption case in South County started with 250 charges against 18 people, alleging that contractors gave meals and other gifts to officials in exchange for school construction bond contracts. Click through to see how many of those charges actually stuck (in order by sentencing date). The orange circle will count the convictions as you go.

John R. McCutchen

0

Henry Amigable

Construction management executive for Gilbane Construction at Sweetwater schools, and Seville Construction Services at Southwestern College. Amigable was charged Jan. 4, 2012, with felony bribery and undue influence. He cooperated with prosecutors, with his expense reports providing key evidence in the case.

John R. McCutchen

1

Henry Amigable

Amigable pleaded guilty on March 21, 2012, to a misdemeanor charge of offering something of value to a board member. He was sentenced March 1, 2013, to three years of summary probation.

1

John Wilson

Former Southwestern College official charged Dec. 21, 2012, with 3 counts of conspiracy, 3 counts of filing a false instrument, 3 counts of perjury by declaration, 2 counts of receiving gifts from a single source in excess of legal amount, 1 count of wrongful influence by a public official, 1 count of conflict of interest, 1 count of receiving a bribe.

Nelvin C. Cepeda

2

John Wilson

He pleaded guilty on Dec. 6, 2013, to to one felony charge of being an accessory to a crime. He was sentenced on Jan. 7, 2014, when he had his felony reduced to a misdemeanor. Received three years’ probation; 20 days community service; $7,994 fine.

(Nickolas Furr/The Writer's Washroom)

2

Nick Alioto

Former Southwestern College administrator charged Dec. 21, 2012, with 3 counts of conspiracy, 2 counts of receiving a bribe, 2 counts of wrongful influence by a public official, 1 count of perjury by declaration, 1 count of filing a false instrument, 1 count of receiving gifts from a single source in excess of legal amount.

John R. McCutchen

3

Nick Alioto

Alioto pleaded guilty on Dec. 6, 2013, to one felony charge of being an accessory to a crime. At sentencing on Jan. 30, 2014, his felony was reduced to a misdemeanor. He received three years’ probation; 160 hours community service; $7,994 fine.

3

Raj Chopra

Former Southwestern College President charged Dec. 21, 2012, with 2 counts of perjury by declaration, 2 counts of filing false instruments, 2 counts of receiving gifts from a single source in excess of legal amount, 1 count of receiving bribe, 1 count of wrongful influence by a public official, 1 count of conflict of interest.

Nelvin C. Cepeda / U-T SAN DIEGO

4

Raj Chopra

He pleaded guilty on Oct. 29, 2013, to a misdemeanor charge of failing to file state disclosure forms. He was sentenced on April 7, 2014, to 42 hours community service; three years probation; $4,500 fine.

K.C. Alfred

4

Gary Cabello

Bond underwriter formerly with Alta Vista Financial and Cabrera Capital Markets was charged Dec. 21, 2012, with 6 counts of conspiracy, 4 counts of offering a valuable thing to a member of a governing board, 2 counts of offering bribe.

Nelvin C. Cepeda

6

Gary Cabello

He pleaded guilty on Oct. 25, 2013, to two felony conspiracy charges. He was sentenced on April 7, 2014. His felony charges were reduced to misdemeanors. He received three years’ probation; $7,994 in fines; 100 hours community service.

Arlie Ricasa

She pleaded guilty on Dec. 8, 2013, to to a misdemeanor charge of accepting gifts above state limits, and agreed to leave office. She was sentenced April 9, 2014, to 33 months’ probation; 80 hours community service; $4,589 fine.

7

Yolanda Salcido

Former Southwestern College board member was charged Dec. 21, 2012, with 3 counts of filing a false instrument, 3 counts of perjury by declaration, 2 counts of receiving gifts from a single source in excess of legal amount, 1 count of wrongful influence, 1 count of accepting a bribe, 1 count of conflict of interest.

K.C. Alfred

8

Yolanda Salcido

She pleaded guilty on Dec. 6, 2013, to a misdemeanor charge of filing a false document. She was sentenced on April 22, 2014, to three years’ probation, 120 hours community service, $5,000 fine. Cannot run for office for four years.

John R. McCutchen

8

Jorge Dominguez

Former Southwestern College board member charged Dec. 21, 2012, with 3 counts of conspiracy, 3 counts of filing false instrument, 3 counts of perjury by declaration, 2 counts of receiving gifts from a single source in excess of a legal amount, 1 count of wrongful influence by a public official, 1 count of accepting bribes, 1 count of conflict of interest.

Nelvin C. Cepeda

9

Jorge Dominguez

He pleaded guilty on Dec. 6, 2013, to a felony charge of being an accessory to a crime. He was sentenced on April 22, 2014. His felony was reduced to misdemeanor, and he received three years’ probation, 80 hours community service, $4,589 fine.

Pearl Quiñones

She pleaded guilty on March 18, 2014, to to felony conspiracy and accepting gifts above state limits and was forced from office. Sentenced on April 28, 2014, to 90 days home confinement; 3 years’ probation; 10 days community service; $7,994 fine.

11

Yolanda Hernandez

San Ysidro school board member charged on Dec. 21, 2012, with 2 counts of perjury, 2 counts of filing false instrument.

12

Yolanda Hernandez

She pleaded guilty on Oct. 29, 2013, to misdemeanor perjury. She was sentenced on April 29, 2014, to three years' probation and 40 hours of community service, fined $4,589. She resigned from office.

12

James Cartmill

Sweetwater board member charged Dec. 21, 2012, with 2 counts of perjury by declaration, 2 counts of accepting bribes, 2 counts of filing false instrument, 1 count of conflict of interest, 2 counts of receiving gifts from a single source in excess of legal amount, 1 count of wrongful influence.

Nelvin C. Cepeda

13

James Cartmill

Pleaded guilty on April 24, 2014, with a misdemeanor charge of accepting gifts over state limit. He was sentenced June 4, 2014, to three years of probation, and ordered to pay a $4,589 fine and perform 40 hours of community service. Removed from office, but may run for re-election as soon as November.

Greg Sandoval

He pleaded guilty on April 4, 2014, to felony conspiracy and misdemeanor failure to report gifts. He was sentenced on June 20, 2014, to six months in custody. He will spend at least 45 days in jail and 135 days on home detention. He was also fined $7,995, ordered to perform 120 hours of community service and put on probation for three years.

16

Paul Bunton

Architect pleaded guilty on March 26, 2012, to a misdemeanor of aiding in the commission of a crime. He was sentenced on June 20, 2014, to probation, but it was immediately terminated, as he was given credit for good behavior in the years before sentencing. He presented evidence of community service, including teaching others about the pitfalls of contractor gift giving.

Bertha Lopez

Pleaded guilty on April 24, 2014, to a misdemeanor charge of accepting gifts over state limit. She was sentenced June 24, 2014, to 40 hours of community service, three years of probation and fined $4,589. Removed from office, but can run for re-election as soon as November.

John Gibbins

17

Manuel Paul

Manuel Paul

He pleaded guilty on Dec. 6, 2013, to a misdemeanor charge of filing a false document. He was sentenced on June 24, 2014, to three years probation, 40 hours community service and fined $4,589. He remains under federal investigation.

18

Jeff Flores

Seville Construction Services executive charged Dec. 21, 2012, with 6 counts of conspiracy, 4 counts of offering a valuable thing to a member of a governing board, 4 counts of offering bribes.

K.C. Alfred

19

Jeff Flores

He pleaded guilty on June 24, 2014, to a misdemeanor charge of aiding in the commission of a crime. He was sentenced on June 24, 2014, to probation, but it was immediately terminated, as he was given credit for good behavior in the years before sentencing. He was also fined $1,000.

Jesus Gandara

Pleaded guilty on April 4, 2014, to felony conspiracy and misdemeanor failure to report gifts. He was sentenced June 27, 2014, to seven months in custody, and will spend at least 60 days in jail before becoming eligible for home detention. He also received three years probation, a $7,994 fine and 120 hours community service.

22

Rene Flores

SGI Construction Management executive pleaded no contest on April 26, 2012, to a misdemeanor charge of aiding in the commission of a crime, and cooperated with the prosecution. He was sentenced June 30, 2014, to probation, but it was immediately terminated, as he was given credit for good behavior in the years before sentencing.

K.C. Alfred

22

Bottom line

When more than 200 charges came down in January 2013, the U-T posted an unscientific online poll asking how many of the charges would stick. The most popular answer was 'fewer than 50.' And with 22 charges becoming convictions, it looks like the readers were right.